There were tears in her eyes when Zara Phillips presented Toytown at a retirement ceremony yesterday at Gatcombe Park. The gelding, now 18, had been her partner for the last 12 years. Together they had won some of the most prestigious eventing awards including an individual and team gold at the 2005 European Championships and the world champion in 2006.

In an article in the Daily Mail, Phillips says:

I think it will be quite difficult. It’s the end of an era. He was the horse of a lifetime for me. We grew up together, we went through the levels together, and it all just seemed to go our way.